


paradise in a taxi

by vervains



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Bickering, Canon Compliant, Flirting, M/M, Mild Sexual Undertones, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, basically jaemle skirting around their feelings, idolverse, it's fine to kiss your homies for the cameras
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27134065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vervains/pseuds/vervains
Summary: jaemin wonders if chenle feels that deeper pull beneath every comeback, every smirk and every button that they push.
Relationships: Na Jaemin/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 24
Kudos: 92





	paradise in a taxi

**Author's Note:**

> i've never written or read jaemle before but i thought i'd give it a go and...this happened. i also rather like the idea of them letting their walls down while they're on the move bc there's just something about car rides tbh.
> 
> anyways, this is for [alegro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alegro/profile) and myself because well, our biases. enjoy!

Jaemin likes the untethered feeling that the car rides separating their schedules give him, that little bubble between the dorms, the fanmeets and recording studios. Things feel less daunting when they’re in motion, playing up to what’s expected of them while the staff capitalizes on any moment that might appeal to their fans. And when Chenle leans into him like _that_ (for the cameras, he always says with a grin) it’s easy to let go.   
  
  


It’s easy to put an arm around Chenle, coo his name and pretend he can’t feel the way his thigh presses against Jaemin’s own, can’t see the knowing glint in his eyes. The other boy plays along, of course. Lets himself be babied, receptive to Jaemin’s skinship in a way that blurs the line between friendship and something else. That’s how it’s always been between the two of them, between the rest as well. Sometimes Jaemin prefers the push and pull, but other times he aches for the quiet, for when the cameras aren’t trained on them for once.

  
  
Today, it’s just him, Chenle, Jisung and Jeno. Jeno sits in front, asleep against the window while Jisung has his earphones on, oblivious to the rest of the world. Jaemin’s kind of glad Donghyuck and Renjun have a different schedule because they’d be giving him the eye if they were here. Smirking at how Chenle’s head lies against his shoulder, his body positioned sideways so his feet are pressed against the car door.

  
  
Jaemin shifts a little, trying to move his arm from where it’s trapped between Chenle’s back and the seat.

“Ah, hyung,” Chenle whines over the deflated beeps of the game he’s playing, “you made me lose.” 

“You just suck,” Jaemin retorts with no real bite. He tries to grab the phone out of Chenle’s hands but he does a good job holding it out of reach. “Don’t you get tired of that?”

“I was _this_ close to defeating this level’s boss.”

“You were literally playing a puzzle game.”

Chenle smiles, and it’s all teeth and crinkled eyes. It’s a smile that rubs Jaemin wrong but also sends a pleasant thrill up his spine. “You could just _ask_ for my attention, you know,” he chirps.

Jaemin gives him a soft shove, but Chenle just rests his head against his shoulder again, except this time, he faces Jaemin. It’s a sight he’s seen a thousand times—shining eyes, the soft cheeks he likes to pull and...Jaemin chews on his bottom lip, remembering the presence of the driver, and Jisung next to them. He can’t take things too far. Not here.

“You’re the one that’s attached to me,” he mutters, trying to feign nonchalance. Of course, Chenle sensed his hesitation, noticed the brief glance towards his lips. They now curl into a smirk. 

He asks, far too innocently, “Should I move?”

If it were any other time, Jaemin might have been able to scrounge up a half-decent comeback. Heck, if he had some coffee then he could have said something that’d even make Hyuck nod in approval. But the night falling around them and the warmth of Chenle’s body against his own makes his retorts die in his throat. Chenle knows it, from the way he hooks one of his legs over Jaemin’s.

“Do you even want to?” Jaemin’s voice comes out a little scratchy. It’s just dark enough that the driver doesn’t glance back. Even if he sees, Jisung doesn’t seem to care, because this isn’t anything new to them. It isn’t anything new, yet Jaemin’s heart beats a little faster, and he can’t help letting his hand rest on Chenle’s leg. 

“I’m good here,” Chenle responds, and the plainness of his tone almost makes Jaemin second-guess things. But then, in a move so fast Jaemin doesn’t know if he imagined it, he dips down and presses his lips against the side of his neck. The hand on Chenle’s leg tightens and he feels the other boy laugh, his breath warm against his face.

“There aren’t any cameras here,” Jaemin whispers. He doesn’t have to, but it feels right, with Chenle’s head now against his chest, too close to his heart for comfort.

“Maybe that was for you.”

The urge to kiss him, and not just on his neck is so empowering that Jaemin has to screw his eyes shut for a second. Not here, he reminds himself. He’ll wait till they’re alone. He and Chenle have crossed the line enough times for him to have imagined how that’s going to go. He wants to savour it. Besides, he likes this feeling of being neither here nor there, heading towards uncharted waters.

“I guess I’ll have to pay you back for it,” he murmurs. The hoarse edge to his voice makes Chenle grin in anticipation. He expects him to do something risky, braces himself for it, but Chenle just retracts his leg, setting against his shoulder like he had before.

“I’ll hold you to it,” he says simply, going back to his phone. Jaemin would be offended, but he knows Chenle. He can tell his heart isn’t in the game, especially with the way he licks his lips, his knee bouncing in the way it does when he’s nervous. He feels Jisung looking at them, and is glad for the earphones that muffled their conversation.

“You’re terrible,” he complains once Jisung decides he can’t be bothered with them. His whining earns a laugh from Chenle that’s quieter than usual, laced with _something_. 

“A little patience won’t kill you, hyung,” he teases, but he doesn’t complain when Jaemin snakes an arm around his back. He’ll even go so far as thinking that he leans into his touch, a sigh leaving him when Jaemin settles his chin above his head, his uneven breathing ruffling his hair.

“There’s no way I’m going to let you have all the fun.” The promise in his voice is sweet.

He can’t see Chenle’s smile, but he hears the deviousness of it when he speaks. There’s a challenge when he responds, “We’ll see about that when we get home.”

  
Jaemin says nothing to that, simply squeezes Chenle’s thigh hard even to draw a satisfying gasp. Even if half of what they do is under the guise of pretense, it’s hard to be discontent. The feel of Chenle’s body, so familiar against his own, is home enough that he doesn’t have to wait for anything, not really. Not when in this pocket that exists outside of their lives, he has everything.

He doesn’t know if Chenle shares the sentiment, if he feels that deeper pull beneath trying to match every comeback, every smirk and every button that they push. But later on during the drive, when Chenle’s eyes start to close, the way he curls himself into Jaemin has him hoping he’s getting there.

When Jaemin succumbs to the call of sleep and Chenle’s soft breathing, he wonders if he’ll find out the answer to that during their next ride together.

fin

**Author's Note:**

> i'd love to know your thoughts in the comments. even a "nice" would be appreciated! ♥ 
> 
> title taken from [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2NEyroeugI) which i love! get in touch with me below:
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/dawnblushes)   
>  [cc](https://curiouscat.me/vervains)


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